Samsung and SK plan to establish two data centers in South Korea

Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix said on Wednesday they have agreed to supply memory chips for OpenAI’s data centers. The initiative from both firms comes as South Korean chipmakers partnered with the ChatGPT maker to meet rising demand from its Stargate project.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman met South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and the chairmen of Samsung and SK Hynix at the presidential office in Seoul on Wednesday prior to the announcement. The tech giant partnered with SoftBank and Oracle in January to unveil the $500 billion Stargate project.

Samsung and SK plan to establish two data centers in South Korea

U.S. President Donald Trump announced the project, stating that it aims to ensure the U.S. remains a leader in artificial intelligence. OpenAI revealed that the project would mainly focus on expanding chip availability.

Kim Yong-beom, South Korea’s top presidential adviser, revealed that OpenAI plans to order 900,000 semiconductor wafers in 2029. He also revealed OpenAI plans to establish joint ventures with Samsung and SK Hynix to build two data centers in South Korea with an initial capacity of 20 megawatts. Kim stated during a press briefing that South Korea was open to financing the Stargate project if needed.

The president’s office acknowledged that the collaboration would give local chipmakers an early foothold in the world’s largest AI infrastructure project. Kim believes the initiative will provide a growth opportunity for South Korea’s domestic chip industry.

Altman said the new initiative will help Samsung and SK deploy ChatGPT Enterprise and API capabilities into their operations, improving workflows and supporting new forms of innovation. He argued that South Korea has all the favorable ingredients to be a global leader in AI, with its tech talent, world-class infrastructure, strong government support, and a thriving AI ecosystem.

Chairman Jay Y. Lee of Samsung Electronics said the advent of AI has prompted the industry to join forces to effectively chart its future. SK Chairman Chey Tae-won also acknowledged that partnering on Stargate represented the official starting point of SK’s comprehensive tech innovation, which enables the company to leverage its synergies across the entire AI stack.

Samsung and SK Hynix account for about 70% of the global Dynamic Random Access Memory chip market and nearly 80% of the HBM market. HBMs are a type of DRAM standard that involves stacking chips vertically to save space and reduce power consumption. The DRAM standard was first produced in 2013, and tech companies have used it to process the large volumes of data generated by complex AI applications.

Demand for ChatGPT services surges in South Korea

OpenAI also established its first office in South Korea this year as demand for its ChatGPT service surged in the country. The tech company revealed that Seoul has the largest number of paying ChatGPT subscribers after the U.S.

OpenAI acknowledged that Samsung Electronics’ affiliate, Samsung SDS, signed a partnership with OpenAI to develop, build, and operate data centers under the Stargate project. Samsung’s sidearm firm is also planning to expand enterprise AI services under the new initiative. 

OpenAI announced that shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries and construction unit Samsung C&T will collaborate with the company to develop floating data centers. The initiative aims to cut data center cooling costs and carbon emissions. The tech giant also announced a separate partnership with SK Telecom to explore the establishment of an AI data center in Seoul.

OpenAI also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Korean Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT) to seek opportunities for establishing data centers outside the Seoul Metropolitan Area. The firm believes the initiative will support balanced regional economic growth and job creation across South Korea. Nvidia also announced last week that it would invest up to $100 billion in OpenAI and supply it with data center chips.

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